“We’ve done some strategic planning with the community and with the staff in the last couple of years, and we’re pretty proud of where our test scores are,” he imparts. “It’s all about what we do with enrichments and interventions every day, K-8. And then when they reach high school our goal is to have every junior and senior in a CTE class, in a work study, or dual enrolled as a junior and senior.” SUPPORTS FOR EVERY STUDENT One of Gladwin’s standout features is the support it provides to students. Elementary Instructional Coach, April Medina, details,“We have people in place that watch their growth and determine what intervention they need and provide it for them, and then we watch data. So it’s more of an individualized approach.” Further defining itself as a supportive and engaged district, Gladwin Community Schools has invested in instructional coaches at every level.“About 20 years ago, we put coaches in each of the two younger buildings, our K-2 and our 3-5, and basically they’re the support system for the instructional staff,” relays Medema. “Since then, we’ve put a coach on at the junior high, and then we do the same coaching model, just in a different format at the high school. We’re one of only a few districts that have as many coaches as we do.” The coaches monitor curriculum initiatives, track data, organize parent engagement, and provide teachers with day-to-day support. Junior High Instructional Coach Kiersten Hale adds that this also creates a bridge between the teacher and the district. She notes, “The instructional coaches are a good liaison between administration and what’s really happening in the classroom, that can help identify best ways to support administration as well as teachers.” Like every district, Gladwin faced setbacks from COVID, but Superintendent Frisbie is proud to report that student outcomes are back to pre-pandemic levels.“Prior to last year, we identified that the levels were coming back, but attendance was lagging,” he highlights.“So we put somebody actually in charge of attendance, changed some of our attendance policies, and this last year, we actually got our attendance back to pre covid levels too.” 195 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 10 GLADWIN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
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